Communist Study Groups

The Communist Study Groups (GEC) was a communist group in French West Africa/French Equatorial Africa that was founded in 1943 by the French Communist Party. GEC formed branches in the capitals of several West African countries, and it was based among intellectuals. In 1946, the party won .9% of the vote in Senegal during the French legislative elections. In Mali, Modibo Keita was a prominent GEC member, and they supported his election to the Constituent Assembly in 1945. In Senegal, the GEC evolved into the Senegalese Democratic Union, which was later expelled from the African Democratic Rally due to its radical views. The GEC disbanded upon the breakup of French West Africa.